On this day in movie and book history - Phantasm (1979)

Phantasm

directed and written by Don Coscarelli,

was released in the United States on March 28, 1979.

Music by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave.

Cast:

A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester, Terrie Kalbus, Kenneth V. Jones, Susan Harper, Lynn Eastman-Rossi, David Arntzen, Ralph Richmond, Bill Cone, Laura Mann, Mary Ellen Shaw, Myrtle Scotton, Angus Scrimm, Dac Coscarelli, Kate Coscarelli.

Recommended reading:

Phantasm - The Novel

by Kate Coscarelli.

Based on the Original Screenplay by Don Coscarelli.

ASIN: B000NGVKQ4

Published by Pulp Xmachina.

Published 2002.

Description:

Young Mike Peterson has a problem.

His brother Jody is about to hit the road, two years after the tragic death of his parents. Terrified of being left alone by the one person he holds most dear, Mike becomes obsessed with shadowing his brother, peeping in on bar-hopping and midnight make-out sessions.

Until one gloomy morning, his snooping turns up more than he could have imagined: the horrifying, ancient secret of THE TALL MAN. And as the terrors mount, each unfolding like the twisted threads of some bizarre fever dream, the line between fantasy and reality blurs, setting Mike and Jody off on a desperate spiral of adventure and madness... until the final horror must be confronted within the darkest depths of a nightmare that never ends.

PHANTASM, is it a fantasy? An illusion? Whatever it is... if this novel doesn't scare you, you're already dead!

Recommended reading - Phiction: Tales from the World of Phantasm

 

Phiction: Tales from the World of Phantasm

by Don Coscarelli.

Illustrated by Aaron Lea.
Foreward by Joe R. Lansdale.
 
Paperback.
Published by Molotov Press.
Published 2024.

ASIN: B0D2QZ3MQK
ISBN-13: 979-8988243038
 
Description:
 
“Electrifyingly tense and gruesome… Horror fans and cult devotees of the classic horror series will find Coscarelli’s ingenuity a rare treat.” - Kirkus Reviews.
 
“It’s magnificent. An impressive collection of remarkable short-story horror fiction that I can proudly display on my bookshelf next to Poe, King, Dahl, Barker, Bradbury, and Lovecraft.” - Nick DiGilio, WGN Chicago.
 

In 1979, filmmaker Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-tep, The Beastmaster) wrote and directed what became one of the seminal sci-fi/horror films of that era, Phantasm. The film was a worldwide theatrical success and spawned four acclaimed sequels.

 

For the first time in the history of horror cinema, a celebrated filmmaker of a cult-classic horror film series has continued the adventure by swapping mediums and personally authoring a series of fictional works exploring in detail the characters he originally created. Coscarelli has now returned to the world of Phantasm to tell more tales of these inspiring phantasmic heroes.

 

Phiction comprises six stories set in the expansive Phantasm world that have never been told before:
 

In Life and Death in the 'Nam we explore the origin story of our favorite ice cream vendor/hero Reggie and his first encounter with the supernatural forces of evil in the jungles of the Vietnam war. It's a two-fisted tale of a young man enduring the horrors of war and at the same time facing down the horrors of the unknown.

 

In Behind the Mortuary Door we learn the secrets of the embalming trade from one of the most memorable characters from the original film.
 

In He Was Home Alone we revisit the young boy Tim, prior to the events from Phantasm Ill, and how, using only his wits and guile, he survives against unspeakable horrors.

 

In Tobe we follow the trail of one of Phantasm's forgotten characters as he witnesses the key events of that film from an entirely different perspective.

 

In The Rocky Road we track the events of one of the Phantasm saga's fan-favorite characters, the nunchuck-wielding Rocky as she's mustered out of the armed services and travels the backroads of the rural South in the early 90's. In a desperate search to find her family she encounters love, vengeance and horror, frequently reacting in the only way she knows how, with her fists and her feet.

 

And finally in Escape From New York we join another Phantasm fan-favorite character, the diminutive Chunk from Phantasm Ravager as he attempts to flee his home in the big city from the horror of an oncoming apocalypse. Along the way he bonds with some unexpected allies on a thrilling quest for survival.

 

In association with illustrator Aaron Lea (GHOST, Rob Zombie), Molotov Press now presents Phiction: Tales from the World of Phantasm.
 
Tales from the world of Phantasm.
 

Phiction conjures six stunning new tales from the world of the classic Phantasm film franchise. Acclaimed filmmaker, series creator and Master of Horror, Don Coscarelli, returns the reader to Morningside Mortuary with revelatory origin stories for some of the Phantasm saga’s most compelling characters including ice cream vendor/action hero Reggie, fan-favorite Rocky from Phantasm III and Chunk from Phantasm: Ravager.

 

Six Stories from the master of horror.
 

“You are in for a treat. As with the [Phantasm] films, these stories will give you what people call chicken skin, and others call Goosebumps. What [Phiction] will do above all else, is entertain. Dive in. The dark waters are fines.” – Joe R. Lansdale (best-selling author of Hap & Leonard, Cold in July and Bubba Ho-tep).

On this day in movie history - Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

Phantasm IV: Oblivion

a.k.a. Phantasm: Oblivion

directed and written by Don Coscarelli,

was released in the United States on October 13, 1998.

Music by Christopher L. Stone.

Cast:

A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Bill Thornbury, Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy, Angus Scrimm, Christopher L. Stone, Chloe Kay, Sylvia Flammer, David Gasster, Sasha Kassel, Aidan Kassel, Eric Avary, Andy John, George A. Craig, Steven C. Kassel, Robert Gates, Todd Mecklem, Jason Jacobs, Michael Perkins, Colin Jessup, Stanley Potter, Roger Avary, Bret Schweinfurth, Robert Tomaszewski.

On this day in movie history - Phantasm V: Ravager (Movie and Book) (2016)

Phantasm V: Ravager

a.k.a. Phantasm: RaVager and Phantasm: Ravager

directed by David Hartman,

written by David Hartman and Don Coscarelli,

was released in the United States on October 7, 2016.

Music by Christopher L. Stone.

Cast:

A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Dawn Cody, Gloria Lynne Henry, Stephen Jutras, Kathy Lester, Bill Thornbury, Daniel Roebuck, Daniel Schweiger, Cean Okada, Joe Jefferson, Kenneth V. Jones, Cesare Gagliardoni, Kathleen Hartman, Tim Divar, Vinton Heuck, Tyler O. Super, Jonathan Sims, Kyle Shire, Jay Oliva, Angus Scrimm, James Brink.

Recommended reading:

Further Exhumed:
The Strange Case of Phantasm Ravager

by Dustin McNeill.

Published by Harker Press.

Published 2018.

ISBN-10: 069205703X

ISBN-13: 978-0692057032

Description:

IT'S A STORY OF BLOOD, SWEAT AND SPHERES!

The fifth and final PHANTASM took an incredible eight years to go from set to screen. The project began as an experimental short before becoming a thirteen-part web series and finally a feature length sequel. Shot in secret on a microbudget, RAVAGER reunites PHANTASM's core cast thirty-five years after the original cult classic. The new sequel filmed not in Hollywood soundstages but in the homes of cast and crew. Visual effects were handled mostly by the director. Decades-old props were taken out of storage and dusted off for reuse. They just don't make movies like this anymore. In fact, they never really did to begin with. Such is THE STRANGE CASE OF PHANTASM RAVAGER!

FURTHER EXHUMED includes:

A thorough chronicle of the journey from web series to feature film.

Analysis of unproduced scripts by Roger Avary and Stephen Romano.

Examination of RAVAGER’s story, themes and conclusion.

Info on deleted scenes and alternate dialogue.

Why the film was delayed years after announcement.

Details on filming locations and special effects.

A breakdown of the Red Credit sequence.

Phantasmic Drink Recipes and Trivia Questions from the Hollywood Premiere.

More tips and tricks for better embalming (still kidding!)

On this day in movie history - Phantasm II (1988)

Phantasm II

directed and written by Don Coscarelli,

was released in the United States on July 8, 1988.

Music by Fred Myrow and Christopher L. Stone.

Cast:

James Le Gros, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, A. Michael Baldwin, Angus Scrimm, Paula Irvine, Samantha Phillips, Kenneth Tigar, Ruth C. Engel, Mark Major, Rubin Kushner, Stacey Travis, J. Patrick McNamara, Amanda Gray, Elizabeth Quezada, Lauren Gray, June Jordan, Megan Gibbons, Craig Murkey, Amanda Gibbons, Troy Fromin, Georgeanna Valdez, Guy Alford, Irene Korman, Ricky Murkey, Katie Carlin, Delia Ortega, Lee Craig, Ramona Ortega, Richard F. Berry, Patrick W. Allen, Phil Fondacaro, Ed Gale.

On this day in movie history - Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

 

Bubba Ho-Tep

directed and written by Don Coscarelli,

based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale,

was released at the CineVegas International Film Festival in the United States on June 9, 2002.

Music by Brian Tyler.

Cast:

Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy, Edith Jefferson, Larry Pennell, Reggie Bannister, Daniel Roebuck, Daniel Schweiger, Harrison Young, Linda Flammer, Cean Okada, Solange Morand, Karen Placencia, Bruce Rawitz, Joseph Primero, Chuck Williams, Timothy E. Goodwin, James Maley, Blaine Tyler, Steve Kassel, Damon Carruesco, Lief Frederick, Danny Crossen, Gigi Bannister, Emily Wengel, Naveed Mahboobian, Omid Naimi, Joseph C. Boulder, Virginia Brown, Celia Gill, Harvey Flammer, Sylvia Flammer, Ruth Hansen, Mary Rose Waken, Natasha Kurtz, Avery Taylor, Nadia Angelini, Aaron Beebe, Gabi Ferrer, Regina Pope, Brian Razzano, André Sogliuzzo.

On this day in movie history - Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead

directed and written by Don Coscarelli,

was released in the United States on May 6, 1994.

Music by Fred Myrow and Christopher L. Stone.

Cast:

Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Gloria Lynne Henry, Kevin Connors, Cindy Ambuehl, John Davis Chandler, Brooks Gardner, Angus Scrimm, Irene Roseen, Sarah Scott Davis, Duane Tucker, Claire Benedek, Wendy Way, Robert Beecher, Chuck Butto, Beau Lotterman, Paula Irvine, Jennifer Bross, Samantha Phillips, Kathy Lester.